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Steven Winn

Steven Winn is a San Francisco based free-lance writer and critic and frequent City Arts & Lectures interviewer. His work has appeared in Art News, California, Humanities, Manhattan, Symphony Magazine and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Articles by this Author

Recording Review
July 13, 2020
David Lang’s love fail Shines in a Fresh Recording
BY Steven Winn

The Lorelei Ensemble sings Lang’s updated setting of the Tristan and Isolde story with elegance and conviction.

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Recording Review
June 28, 2020
A Winning Goat Rodeo Sequel With Yo-Yo Ma and Chris Thile
BY Steven Winn

Ma reunites with a trio of expert bluegrass players on a new CD.

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Recording Review
May 30, 2020
MTT and SF Symphony Take Aaron Copland’s Third to New Heights
BY Steven Winn

A digital-only release captures a masterful 2018 performance of this great American work.

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Recording Review
May 23, 2020
Come for the Beethoven, Stay for the Schumann
BY Steven Winn

Kindra Scharich and Jeffrey LaDeur make musical alchemy on To My Distant Beloved.

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CD Review
May 11, 2020
Arvo Pärt’s Spiritual Imagination Infuses an Exciting Disc From Gloriae dei Cantores
BY Steven Winn

Stabat Mater reveals the diversity of the Estonian composer’s musical ideas.

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CD Review
April 17, 2020
Sony’s Beethoven’s World CDs Celebrate the Master’s Contemporaries
BY Steven Winn

The latest disc features intriguing cello concertos by Antonin Reicha and Bernhard Romberg, plus sprightly dances from Josef von Eybler.

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CD Review
March 30, 2020
Caroline Shaw and PBO Make Magic on a New Disc
BY Steven Winn

Anne Sofie von Otter, Dashon Burton, and Avery Amereau give voice to Shaw’s The Listeners and Is a Rose.

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Recital Review
February 24, 2020
Yuja Wang Shakes It Up at Davies and Wins
BY Steven Winn

Surprise changes in the program make for a thrilling piano recital by the masterful Wang.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
February 17, 2020
Jean-Yves Thibaudet Tangos With SF Symphony in an Evening of Lush, Dramatic Music
BY Steven Winn

Film composer Aaron Zigman’s Tango Manos is the highlight of this festive valentine of a concert.

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Early Music/Baroque Review
February 10, 2020
Richard Egarr Energizes the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in a Well-Caffeinated Concert
BY Steven Winn

All things coffee percolate through the all-Bach program as PBO’s music director-designate flexes his considerable harpsichord chops.

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Early Music/Baroque Review
January 27, 2020
PBO Gives Handel’s Dark Aci, Galatea e Polifemo a Powerful Makeover
BY Steven Winn

Christopher Alden’s intense staging befits the Baroque serenata’s violent tale of a disastrous love triangle.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
January 11, 2020
MTT Wears His Composer Hat in Meditations on Rilke
BY Steven Winn

Soprano Sasha Cooke and baritone Ryan McKinny star in the world premiere.

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Early Music/Baroque Review
December 23, 2019
Christopher Lowrey Gives a Soul-Shaking Performance With Voices of Music
BY Steven Winn

The countertenor’s stunning technique and stirring emotional delivery meld perfectly with VOM’s impeccable Baroque chops.

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Recital Review
December 17, 2019
Jonathan Biss Brings Passion and Precision to Beethoven Piano Sonatas
BY Steven Winn

Jumping in midway through the pianist’s concert series of the complete cycle feels just fine.

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Opera Review
December 8, 2019
Adler Fellows Shine a Bright Light on Opera’s Future
BY Steven Winn

Ashley Dixon and Christian Pursell stand out on a stage bursting with talent.

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Chamber Music Review
December 6, 2019
Dawn Upshaw and the Brentano Quartet Suspend Time at Herbst
BY Steven Winn

Soprano and quartet are transcendent in Schoenberg’s Quartet No. 2.

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Opera Review
November 25, 2019
Great Singing Makes for a Memorable Ermelinda
BY Steven Winn

Contralto Sara Couden’s double-role performance stands out in Ars Minerva’s latest re-creation of a forgotten opera.

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Opera Review
October 14, 2019
SF Opera’s New Figaro Sets the Mind Soaring
BY Steven Winn

Every detail of performance and staging contributes to making Michael Cavanagh’s reimagined production a feast for the ears and eyes.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
October 6, 2019
SF Symphony Hits the Stratosphere With Mozart’s “Jupiter”
BY Steven Winn

Prodigy Maria Dueñas burns through Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in her debut with the SFS.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
September 27, 2019
Stravinsky Works Raise the Roof at Davies
BY Steven Winn

MTT deftly corrals the SF Symphony, Chorus, and soloists, and cellist Oliver Herbert turns in a stellar performance of Haydn.

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